Press releases

MINSK, 15 July (BelTA) – All three MAZ-SPORTauto trucks crossed the finish line of the sixth leg of the 2016 Silk Way Rally in the top ten, BelTA learned from MAZ-Sport Auto Team.

For the sixth stage, the organizers prepared a wide variety of terrain with off-track, sandy tracks, small dunes, and vegetation. Initially, the racers were to cover a total of 335km. However, due to an approaching storm, the route was cut by 224km for safety reasons.

The six leg of the rally took the racers from Balkhash Lake to Almaty. The Belarusian crew led by pilot Sergei Vyazovich posted the fourth-fastest time clocking 1h19m, 2.5 minutes off the stage leader, Russian Kamaz driver Ayrat Mardeev. After the sixth leg of the rally, they climbed to the eighth position in the general standings with some 46 minutes separating them from overall leader Kamaz’s Eduard Nikolaev.

Alexander Vasilevsky finished the stage in 6th position clocking 1h21m, and now places 10th overall. Aleksei Vishnevsky came in 7th posting a time of 1h23m.

After the sixth stage of the race, the drivers have a day of rest in Almaty that will be followed by particularly challenging legs crossing the territory of China.

The route of the 2016 Silk Way Rally passes through three countries, Russia, Kazakhstan and China. The race crosses 15 cities, the Gobi Desert, and Tien Shan mountain ranges. Partaking in the rally are 24 trucks and 100 offroaders that will run a total of 10,735km.